The nuclear volcano’s about to blow! Can Michael Crichton

From Jurassic Park to Westworld, he was king of the sciency disaster novel. But Crichton died before finishing Eruption. Who could possibly complete it? Fellow thriller legend James Patterson explains why he took up the baton

“You’re driving very fast,” Jenny said to Mac when they were in the car. “I always drive fast when I’m trying to save the world,” said Mac. “Well, when you put it like that,” Jenny said, holding on to the dash as the car swerved. “But I’m not going to lie, MacGregor, I’ve had better dates.”

There’s plenty of dialogue like this in the new thriller novel Eruption, in which a plucky crew of understandably self-important volcanologists are in a race against time to stop lava from transforming Hawaii into a latter-day Pompeii. All while trading witty banter. But who wrote it?